Majang

2.1.3.2 Numerals

Numerals can be used as subetantives, without any demonstra-
tives. (In the examples, DP is a airectional marker).

mel+er+ki+ko apee
come+3p+PST two
'Two came. '

ket+e+ko apee
CUt+3s+PST twQ
'He cut two. '

2.1.3.3 Numeration B YPte iP

Majang has a numeration system based on fingers and toes
(digits). It combines base 5, base 10, and base 20 systems. The
system has some slight variation from north to south, but it is the
phonetic shape of the morphemes, more than the system, that varies.
The following chart shows the structure of the numeration system:

MAJANG NUMERATION SYSTEM

1. omo(ok)

2. pee

3. jii

4. anan

5. tuul

6. tuula?om

7. tuulapee

8. tuulajiit

9. tuulaoan
10. aarn

11 . aarnaomoo 21 .

12. aarnpee 30.

13. aarnajiit 40 .

14. aamaoan 50.

15. aarnatuul 60.

16. aarnatuulom 70.

17. aarnatuulapee 80.

18. aarnatuulajiit 100,

19. aarnatuula'?aQan

20. rumer idiit

rumer idiit omo
jrumer idiit a?arn
polpolejopee
polpolejopeea'?aarn
polpolejojiitik
polpolejoiiitikia?an
polpolejojf a'?a7an
polpolejotuul

It seems that xiaaer i^Liii 'twenty', means 'one complete
person', that is, all fingers and toes, 'Forty' can be broken
down to polpol 'digit', r& plural* jx» 'people', pes 'two; 'digits
of two people, '

There is some dialect variation for 'ten'. The form in Tepi
is gurun > but the fQim at Godare and in the north at Sibo is aaLHr
meaning 'hands'. Also in Tepi, instead of a separate word for
'twenty', they continue building on the word for 'ten' gurunaqut-
ufee . Cerulli gives a form for 'ten' similar to the Tepi variant:
gllX (1948: 148) ,

Topics in
Nilo-Saharan Linguistics

Edited by
M. Lionel Bender

CIP-Titelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek

Topics in Nilo-Saharan linguistics / ed. by M. Lionel Bender.
- Hamburg : Buske, 1989

(Nilo-Saharan ; Vol. 3)

ISBN 3-87118-927-8
NE: Bender, M. Lionel [Hrsg.]; GT

ISBN 3-87118-927-8 (NISA 3)

ISSN 0932-1993 (NILO-SAHARAN)

All rights reserved

^^

HELMUT BUSKE VERLAG HAMBURG